This Week's Leaders

CoQ10/other supplement results

For anyone who has done multiple ERs and used CoQ10 alone or in combo with other supplements, will you post your subsequent euploidy results here?

For example, first ER was 2/10 euploid, started CoQ10, 3 months later second ER was 8/11 euploid.

People think we become mothers when we give birth but the truth is we become mothers the moment we start calling our babies to us in our thoughts, dreams and prayers. Some paths are short and some are so long that you can easily forget where you were headed.

TTC #1 since 2011. Tried for 5 years before we knew there was a one year rule.Diag w/MS 2016; w/PCOS & IF 2017New RE 2018; PCOS diagnosis taken away, IF due to ovary adhesions, but prev. RE insists PCOS IF

Re: CoQ10/other supplement results

@suzycupcake i'm not sure I can give you exactly what you are looking for but I can tell you that my first IVF cycle with zero supplements, just the prenatal vitamin yielded 11 eggs at retrieval only 4 fertilized and after PGD testing I only had one good embryo. Transferred that embryo and ended up with a chemical pregnancy.In preparation for the second stimulation cycle-- I added CoQ10 and micronized DHEA along with the prenatal. For what it's worth, I also switched over all of my personal care and household products to phthalate free. There are a lot of studies on how phthalates affect fertility. I also saw a fertility acupuncturist. For the month before and during stimulation, I significantly reduced my carb and sugar intake. that cycle resulted in 34 eggs retrieved. 27 were mature, 21 fertilized and 19 made it to blast, 17 tested A-OK at PGD testing time. I don't know what accounts for the dramatic change--I cant say it was one thing or all things and my RE is totally amazing. But there was obviously a significant turnaround in egg production and quality so I wanted to share this with you. I read a book by Jill Blakeway in anticipation and I found it very helpful. Good LUck!!!!

@NicWalker10 That's exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I don't notice a whole lot of women talking about this here. I'm also curious to know the answers to what @somewhereinnyc asks. In addition to that, when you said you only had one good embryo the first time, did you mean found through PGS testing? Which Jill Blakeway book did you read? We are reading It Starts With The Egg by Rebecca Fett with all of that stuff in there. I'm excited because she just recently started a FB group recently to talk about the book and any new research that comes up.

People think we become mothers when we give birth but the truth is we become mothers the moment we start calling our babies to us in our thoughts, dreams and prayers. Some paths are short and some are so long that you can easily forget where you were headed.

TTC #1 since 2011. Tried for 5 years before we knew there was a one year rule.Diag w/MS 2016; w/PCOS & IF 2017New RE 2018; PCOS diagnosis taken away, IF due to ovary adhesions, but prev. RE insists PCOS IF

@suzycupcake and @somewhereinnyc i'm happy you found this helpful! the difference in results really was shocking I have to say. For the book, I read Making Babies: A proven 3 month progam for maximum Fertility and the Fertility plan (co written with an RE). For @somewhereinnyc in NYC, i'm going to take a wild guess and say you are in NYC--I highly recommend Blakeway's acupuncture facility-Yinova. That's where I did my acupuncture for that successful cycle , and successful transfer, and my acupuncturist was phenomenal. I did also read it starts with the egg and found that helpful too. To answer your question - my first sim cycle, I ended up with 4 embryos that fertilized and made it to blast, but only 1 passed PGD. In terms of the amounts of CoQ10 and Dhea, I will see if I can find my notes from that period of time as I don't recall dosage off the top of my head. One thing I do recall for certain is that it was important that the DHEA be micronized and the COQ10 be ubiquinol. There are a lot of garden variety versions of these supps that are not the same! and, to give you a boost of hope, at the time of that stim cycle and retrieval with the great resultsI was 37! So I firmly believe that you can turn around egg quality and production no matter what anyone says!

@NicWalker10 A question for you -- You keep saying PGD. I associate PGD with diagnostic screening to check for a particular condition using a probe (sometimes PGS is also performed, I think, but I'm not sure). PGD is used when one or both partners is a carrier for a genetic disorder. PGS is the term usually used for the general screening done on embryos to see if they have the right number of chromosomes. Which did you do? In any case I'm glad you had such improved results. I agree with you I think egg quality can be improved. The hard thing is quantifying it because egg quality can't be tested (except maybe through the trial and error of IVF). Few patients have done a "before and after" cycle the way you did.

i have been doing coq10 micronizsd dhea prentals and switched to all “clean prodcurs for personal care and household” only reduced didnt cut out carbs and sugar and did acupuncture once a week , it ended with a chemical which I was taking asa good sign for me. I will however be stopping coq10 and dhea during the period when I might be prego for next time. Saw a new doc who also would like me to use hgh .

@knottie41a29a990fef554d Please update your screen name so it's easier to tag you. You should ask your RE about how best to use your supplements. However, when we were trying on our own I took CoQ10 until +HPT per my RE's instructions. My understanding of CoQ10 is it hasn't been studied in pregnant women so it's better not to take it, but there's not really a reason to think it is necessarily harmful in early pregnancy. My RE only wanted me to use DHEA leading up to IVF. DHEA can have some unpleasant side effects like possible hair loss and you don't want to take it while pregnant. If I were using it leading up to a transfer/IUI I would probably stop on transfer/IUI day and resume if I did not get pregnant.

Hi, I did Ubiquinol 200 mg 3 times a day, myo-inositol 2 grams twice a day, melatonin 3mg at bedtime for 4 months, for my 3rd ivf cycle. My AMH was 5.3 last year, and I always have 8 antral follicles at baseline. First cycle 13 follicles grew, 5 eggs, 2 mature, 1 frozen blast. Second cycle, max dosage FSH, 17 follicles grew, 11 eggs, 4 mature, 2 frozen blasts. Started supplements but had canceled cycle due to cyst. 3rd cycle, with same protocol and the supplements, I grew 20+ eggs, 7 retrieved, 2 mature, 1 fertilized. Estrogen went over 7,000 pg/mL, triple the other 2 times. I am 35, my dx is stage 4 endometriosis, and I have a huge problem with eggs arresting at M1 stage which I was hoping the supplements would fix. I also took vitamins E, D, and C for antioxidants and SimplyOne triple strength prenatal all 3 cycles. We are banking embryos so none have been transferred yet.Any and all suggestions are welcome!

@NicWalker10 I agree w the others, thank you for this helpful infornation! I am also trying to figure out what “extras” I can do because my RE is kinda “meh” on a lot of things (like acupuncture) which annoys me. On your really successful cycle did you do acupuncture just that month or for multiple months leading up to it?

What brand did you use for COQ10? My clinic mentioned naturally smart vitamins. The website says they are "high potency" and are 200mg. My clinic recommended 600mg. These are definitely pricier than others at about $85 for 45. I'm awaiting clarification from my clinic on whether these also require 600mg but was wondering if anyone had any experience with this.

To the ladies in here, this book is well worth the purchase. It teaches you about egg quality, diet, sperm, environmental exposure, etc. all in one compact place with a lot of citations to read the studies she is talking about so you can fact check what she is saying along the way.

People think we become mothers when we give birth but the truth is we become mothers the moment we start calling our babies to us in our thoughts, dreams and prayers. Some paths are short and some are so long that you can easily forget where you were headed.

TTC #1 since 2011. Tried for 5 years before we knew there was a one year rule.Diag w/MS 2016; w/PCOS & IF 2017New RE 2018; PCOS diagnosis taken away, IF due to ovary adhesions, but prev. RE insists PCOS IF

@ah80 My RE wants all her patients on NeoQ10 from Theralogix, so that's what I've used. Allegedly it has a proprietary formula to allow better absorption, equivalent to over 600mg per day. 600mg is usually the recommended dose but I've read ubiquinol is generally absorbed better than ubiquinone. Idk, I tried to do research on it but in the end just take what my RE said.

@ashleykilmer6 no problem!! I did acupuncture for the month leading up to my stimulation, during my stimulation and the month leading up to my transfer and then two days before my transfer. I know it sounds utterly insane, but I also switched my deodorant to a natural deodorant, same thing for body wash and lotions, dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent. I looked for products that were phathlate and paraben free and free of sulfates. I even bought five free nailpolish and used that for my manicures and pedicures. Like I said, I have absolutely no idea what accounted for the change...because I threw a lot into the mix at once, but it's relatively easy to switch the products so I figured if it could help why not!For those asking, my RE said no DHEA post, but Coq10 is fine. I wish everyone on this thread the best of luck in this journey to conceive. It's a very difficult road to navigate and sometimes it feels hopeless, but please hang in there. The reward is amazing...I promise.